1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to door hinges and more particularly to covers for butt-hinges.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As is well known, a butt-hinge is a type of hinge structure which is commonly used in the mounting of swinging doors in openings provided in buildings, rooms, storage cabinets, and the like. A butt-hinge includes a pair of flat plates, commonly referred to as leaves, which are mortized so that one leaf is flush with the edge of the door and the other is flush with the door's casing. The leaves are usually attached to the door and to the casing by screws. The leaves have tubular knuckles formed in spaced increments on their adjacent edges, and the knuckles are alternately arranged along a pivot axis. A pintle, or pivot pin, is axially disposed in the bores of the aligned knuckles to hold the leaves together and form the pivot axis of the hinge.
The aesthetic appearance of butt-hinges leaves something to be desired and very often will detract from the overall decorative appearance of an otherwise well decorated room. Painting the hinges is not a satisfactory answer to the aesthetic problems in that the movements of the knuckles relative to each other will chip or otherwise damage the paint with the end result being worse than an unpainted hinge. Due to this, most people do not attempt to change the finish appearance of butt-hinges which is usually a brass finish. In addition to the brass finish, the aesthetics of the alternately arranged knuckles themselves are not particularly pleasing to the eye.
In that butt-hinges are pivotably movable mechanisms, some form of lubrication is necessary for smooth and silent operation. Sometimes powdered graphite is used as the hinge lubricating substance and sometimes a liquid lubricant, or oil is employed for this purpose. However, the lubricant will in most cases, be extruded from between the abutting ends of the adjacent knuckles and between the knuckles and the head of the pintle as a result of the pivot action. Lubricant extrusion will present an oily film on the knuckles of the hinge to which dirt and dust adhere, and in some cases where excessive lubricant is applied, the extruded lubricants can run, drip or otherwise flow onto the leaves of the hinge and/or onto the adjacent areas of the door and casing. For this reason, many people avoid applying any lubrication whatsoever to the door hinges and make the decision that they would rather have noisy and roughly operating hinges than ones which are messy as a result of lubrication.
In U.S. Pat. No. 158,273, issued on Dec. 29, 1874, to H. T. Blake, and U.S. Pat. No. 196,419, issued on Oct. 23, 1877, to the same inventor, the use of decorative plates on the cofacing surfaces of the leaves of the hinge was suggested. The purpose for the plates was to cover the screw heads used to attach the leaves to the door and to the casing. These plates could not be seen when the door was closed and, of course, did nothing to cover the unsightly knuckles of the hinge.
In prior art U.S. Pat. No. 2,342,453, it was suggested that an arcuate in cross section shield, preferably of sheet metal, be placed in coextending relationship on the knuckles of the hinge. This cover is held in place by springs which wrap around the heads of the pintle in one embodiment and by friction tabs which are disposed between the leaves in another embodiment. In a third embodiment, it is suggested that the cover having the same arcuate cross section be formed of a resilient rubber-like material with integral caps that are forced onto the heads of the pintle to hold the cover in place. The arcuate cross section of these covers is somewhat greater than 180.degree. which, of course, means that less than all of the knuckles are covered when the door is closed and that the leaves of the hinge are not covered at all. The biggest problem, however, results from the longitudinal edges of the cover being disposed so as to engage the leaves of the hinge when the door is opened. When the door is opened, the cover will be deflected away from the knuckles of the hinge by the leaves of the hinge. The deflection is not excessive when the door is part way open so that the leaves of the hinge are at approximately a right angle with respect to each other. When the door is further opened which increases the included angular relationship of the leaves of the hinge, up to and including a 180.degree. relationship, the cover deflection becomes excessive. In the case of the metal hinge cover, the excessive forces applied to one, or both of the longitudinal edges of the cover could cause permanent distortion of the cover and could cause it to pop off of the hinge. In the case of the resilient rubber-like cover, the deflection forces will pucker or otherwise distort the cover, which could even tear it away from the integral caps which hold it in place on the hinge.